Wake-up Butterfly
by Diporae
Summary: Michelangelo had never been this close to a butterfly before... One-shot.


**A/N I do not own TMNT, but I am forever grateful for their existence!**

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Wake-up Butterfly

He'd never seen a butterfly before. Well, he'd seen pictures and videos of them, but he'd never seen one in real life – at least this close.

It was just so… Fragile.

Two tiny little wings made of delicate cream-coloured tissue with slender silver veins sprawling from tip to tail. If he looked closely enough where it perched on delicate dandelion he could just make out the dusting of scales powdering the membrane.

His scales weren't half as beautiful.

And he was the "pretty one."

Barely daring to breathe for fear of it floating away on the very wisps of his breath, Michelangelo unabashedly stared, utterly mesmerized, from where he lay on his plastron at the gossamer insect. He couldn't help but smile wistfully at it. There was nothing like this creature on the concrete seas or metallic giants of New York. Maybe in Central Park but he and his brothers rarely went there for far too many humans eyes endlessly lurked those paths even in the dark.

Roaches and mites and the occasional silver fish: those were the bugs that Michelangelo knew. Sure there were moths, but seeing this serene little butterfly in the daylight had a new bright kind of fascinating magic.

"Hmm, I thought it was too early in the season for butterflies." Michelangelo had been so enchanted by the fey insect he had failed to notice Donatello's approach, "Most are probably still caterpillars."

The younger turtle glanced up at his brother, "What do you mean still caterpillars?"

"Ah Lepidoptera Papilionoidea or all true butterflies undergo holometabolous metamorphosis as a part of their natural lifecycle. So instead of transitioning through various nymphal stages or instars such as dragonflies or grasshoppers, they have an intermediate pupal form before the larva becomes an adult that is dramatically different in physical appearance."

"Um…" Michelangelo blinked up with a shy smile on his face, "And this has to do with caterpillars and butterflies because…?"

"One sec," Donatello disappeared into the woods for several minutes before returning with his hands carefully holding what appeared to be a small cluster of eggs, a green caterpillar, and a cocoon. "After they hatch," He pointed accordingly, "the caterpillar eats and eats until he's full. Then he spins himself into a chrysalis like this one before finally emerging as a butterfly."

Eyes wide with wonder, Michelangelo gasped, "You mean that little green wormy thing gets to grow up to be _that_? How long does it take?"

"It depends on the species. Some butterflies spend all winter hiding in the safety of their cocoons while some only need a few weeks.

"Whoa…" The freckled turtle prodded the cocoon gently, "So what's he doing in there?"

"Well, the caterpillar first breaks down its body into imaginal cells and then using the…" Once more seeing a blank look cross the younger's face Donatello opted to conclude, "Basically he takes a really long nap before waking up better than ever."

"Ah gotcha!"

Michelangelo nodded vigorously as though it all made perfect sense. Pleased that he had managed to teach his brother even a little bit, Donatello gave a smile as he rose to leave, "I'm going to go get things ready for us inside; I'll be back in a bit."

The younger called to his departing sibling, "Sounds good bro."

"Hear that Leo?"

Michelangelo abruptly rolled off his plastron continuing onto his carapace. The sudden movement caused the little cream-coloured beauty to take off from its flowery perch. "Soon you'll be better than ever! All you got to do is wake-up!"

The butterfly glided effortlessly in the sky alight with sunshine.

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 **A/N Instead of working on one of my two major fics, my ever-fickle muse decided to take me here. Hopefully you enjoyed it!**

 **Also, yes Leo's still in his coma and he's outside. Considering he was out for three months and is a reptile, I don't think it's that far-fetched that once the weather was warmer his brothers would take him outside to get some sunshine. After all basking is important for reptilian health.**


End file.
